I'm thinking of you!
by Alley McNally
Summary: Hinata and Naruto's Christmas suck. They are both outcasts in their own right. Neither can enjoy the holiday. But if one reaches out to the other, maybe it won't be so bad! - A NARUTO ONE-SHOT - Featuring Hinata & Naruto.


So, it's almost Christmas Time. The snow is falling (if it actually is in your area), the coco ready, the presents are wrapped - all we need now is wait for Santa to come! Now, I can't bring Christmas any faster, that's impossible. But what I can do is give you a gift to unwrap early. With that in mind, let me present my epic one-shot: "I'm thinking of you!"

**I'M THINKING OF YOU!**

_A Christmas One-shot by Alley McNally_

It was Christmas Eve in the Village Hidden in Leaves. It was a time of parties and family. For those who were among the social elite it was a very busy time. A time full of presents and obligations. This was the reality for Hinata Hyuga. Her world exploded every Christmas Time. It was hard for the wallflower. She wanted to the life of the party. She wanted to be noticed. That was not in her nature.

Every year she would hide at the back of one of the parties they forced her to attend. She would find some plant or decoration. Then she would study it closely. By the end of the party she could tell you every detail of thing. That is if she had the courage to tell you. Hinata cursed herself over and over again for her shyness.

Why couldn't she be like her cousin, Neji? He might hate her but he could hold a conversation at party if he had to. Why couldn't she be like father? His regal presence kept all negative comments at bay. Why couldn't she be like Naruto? He would would be the life of the party even if everyone hated him.

Naruto. He was not invited to this party. He didn't have the opportunity to show everyone who wonderful he was. A pariah like him would never, ever be invited to such a thing. To most people he was a demon in human form. Not the fantastic person that he was. Hinata wished that people would give a chance to prove himself. Then maybe they wouldn't treat him so badly.

That was not going to happen anytime soon. Everyday people did mean and terrible things to him. Everyday he had to deal with their stares and cold shoulders. And everyday he managed to smile. Hinata didn't know how he did it. She would have been crushed by it all.

Hinata noticed Neji's stare. His eyes bored straight through her. Hate radiated into the air. It was almost as if he was killing her over and over again in his mind. No one seemed to care though. Not even father. Then again he rarely took notice of his little failure. His eyes were almost as cold as Neji's when he looked at her. She hated how father looked at her. All she wanted to do was make him happy. She never seemed to get that right.

The party became stifling. She had to get out. Luckily, one of the benefits of being a wallflower is that no one notices when you leave. Hinata was able to sneak without looking at her.

As soon as Hinata got to the outside she was able to breathe again. The air was cold but refreshing. Snow was falling lightly from the heavens, blanketing the village in white. It quite was beautiful. Hinata felt at peace here. No one bothered her or looked down at her. She was just one of a thousand. No expected great things from the Hyuga Heiress. Hinata was useless and forgettable. In other words, Hinata was invisible.

Hinata moved through the village. She watched the people go about their business. There were parties to attend and presents to give. No one had time for Hinata. No one even noticed her. She wasn't even trying to hide. She was just that unremarkable.

Without even meaning it she ended up at Naruto's apartment. The lights were off and no one moved within the apartment. To all appearances no one was home. Hinata knew better. Naruto always hid in his apartment on days like this. The villagers were always cold to him, but on days like this they were worse. Sometimes they would even resort to violence. Naruto hid away from everyone to avoid conflict.

Christmas wasn't as bad for him as his birthday. The celebrating Villagers would openly chase the boy on that day. Naruto had no defense against a mob. So he hid on that day as well. Only, he didn't hide in his house. They some have broken in to his apartment before. So, Naruto hid elsewhere on that day.

For the rest of the holidays he simply hid in his house. No one bothered him. No one invited him to a party either. He didn't exist. Just like Hinata. She didn't know how he held his head up high. She couldn't and her situation wasn't as bad as his. Secretly, she wished that she had his strength. It would make days such as today much better for her.

Hinata wanted to walk up the stairs, ring the bell, and spend Christmas with the boy she liked. She couldn't bring herself to do it though. She didn't care what others thought of the two of them together. It wasn't that. It was the fear that he would reject her. Fear that he would ignore her just like the others. It was paralyzing. It kept her in her spot for hours. It kept the little present she had for him in her pocket. It kept her silent.

Hinata hated herself for her weakness. It prevented her from doing what she wanted. It prevented her from comforting him. It prevented them from being happy. She wished that she had Sakura's or Ino's confidence. Maybe Sasuke didn't feel that way about them, but they still had the confidence to tell him. Hinata didn't have that.

Instead, she snuck around like a stalker. She watched his every move. She watched him train. She saw the countless of hours he put in just to fail the next day. Then she watched him get up and do it again. He kept working until he got it right. She wanted to be more like him. She wanted him to succeed! Only she just couldn't tell him that.

She plucked up her courage. She trudged up the stairs then rang the bell. No one answered._ Of course, he didn't._ She thought miserably. _He thinks that I mean him harm._ She berated herself for being so stupid. _Naruto was hiding today, not seeing guests._ She tried to pluck up the courage to call out to him. To let him know that she was there for him, but she lost her courage last minute. The words died in her throat. Eventually, she gave up trying. _I really am pathetic._ She thought as started to leave.

Suddenly, the door flew open. Naruto stood there in the doorway. She couldn't see him but she knew he was there. All she had to do was turn around and she would see him. She couldn't do it though. Heat flushed to her cheeks. Hinata was starting to get hot, too hot! She was in real danger of passing out. If he called out her name . . .

"Hin . . . na . . ."

Hinata was gone before he could finish saying her name. Leaving behind a tiny, little present. He picked the tiny box up from the snow. Naruto was shocked that _anyone_ would get _him_ anything. Let alone Hinata.

For several long minutes, Naruto stood there in the snow, stunned. He read and re-read the little tag attached to the box. 'To Naruto; From Hinata.' He couldn't believe that she had actually gotten him something. Naruto didn't even care what it was. It was the _first_ Christmas present he had ever gotten. It was precious, including the box.

Naruto looked for Hinata but he couldn't see her. _She's around here somewhere._ He called out to her, "Thanks Hinata!"

Naruto tried to play it off as an ordinary thing. That way he wouldn't be embarrassed. He wouldn't cry. But that was what he felt like doing right now. He had to get inside before the water works started.

Naruto hid inside his apartment as quickly as his pride would allow him. He shut the door then slid to the floor. Finally, he started to cry. Tears of joy. He had no idea why he was unwilling to show them. Her gift, whatever it was, was special. He was grateful for that. Grateful beyond words. He had no clue why she had given him this gift, but he was glad that she did. Someone cared about him. That was enough for him.

After what seemed like forever, he opened the gift. Inside was a tiny kunai charm. The kind that kunoichi like Hinata thought was cute. It wasn't very manly, but Naruto didn't care. It was the thought that counted. He would hide this charm away so that no one would steal it. He would put it with the rest of his precious things. That way he would never lose it.

He said quietly, "Thank you, Hinata."

Outside, Hinata hid in the nearby tree. She watched him take her gift. She smiled as she realized that he liked it. _Thank you, Naruto-kun!_ She thought as she finally headed home. It wasn't so bad of a Christmas after all.

- EXTRA -

Yup, that's it. My one-shot featuring Hinata is over. Hinata gives a cute little present then the whole darned thing ends! To be honest, that's how I prefer it to be. Hinata is not one of my favorite characters. I don't particularly care for the pairing (since I don't think you would marry your stalker), but if it had to be done - perhaps it would be like this! This almost makes it reasonable that down the line he would marry her!

Now, I don't want people to think that I hate Hinata. I don't. I just think that she would be better off with someone else. The same goes for Sakura. And it didn't have to be Naruto who either ended up with. The pairings they made just sucked. Who knows what pairings I will do in The Will of Fire. I haven't gotten that far yet.

With that in mind, let me promote my current story - "The Will of Fire!" It is currently on-going (As of 12/23/2014). I have 14 chapters plus a prologue up right now. That's not even all what I have written! I will be following the general plot line of the series with the major change of Naruto's parents being alive. It makes big differences in the world that get bigger and bigger with time!

See the events of Naruto play out from Minato's perspective as he tries to protect the Leaf, his family and the world! This story has short chapters so that I can post regularly between 1 to 2 times per week. Please check it out - even if it's done when you read this story. You'll be glad you did! Chao!


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